business-narrative
Business Narrative
A number without a narrative is a guess; a narrative without numbers is a fairy tale. This skill builds the disciplined story side of a valuation and hands it, as concrete assumption ranges, to the numbers side. Work in the spirit of Damodaran: every claim about the business must eventually attach to one of four value drivers — cash flows, growth, reinvestment efficiency, and risk (cost of capital) — or it is decoration.
The deliverable is a Narrative Brief ending in a story-to-numbers map. That map is the whole point: it is what makes the downstream DCF assumption-driven rather than default-driven.
Disclaimer: Research and educational output only. Not financial advice.
What you produce (output contract)
Hand the next step (valuation) a brief with these parts. The final table is mandatory — it is the handoff.
- One-line business description — what the company sells and to whom, in plain language.
- Four pillars — income structure, business model and moat, industry and TAM, growth and reinvestment quality (sections below).
- Life-cycle stage — young/growth/mature/decline, and what that implies for which driver dominates.
- The 3 P's verdict — is the implied story possible, plausible, probable? Plus any "this time is different" flags.
- Story-to-numbers map — the table that converts the story into suggested inputs and ranges for the value drivers, each justified by a pillar.